Ladder



June 12, 1951 H. J. FRAZIER 2,556,998

LADDER Filed July 28, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

HOWARD J. FRAZIER 'x/ ATTORNEYS H. J. FRAZIER June 12, 1951 LADDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 28, 1949 H L 1/1 7 Huh I LI LI HI H HU I IJI 1| 1| 1 l. 11 I I l l l l l l l l l I ll+ llllll v INVENTOR. HOWARD J. FRAZIER &

ATTO RN EYS Patented June 12, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LADDER Howard J. Frazier, Detroit, Mich. Application July 28, 1949, SerialNo. 107,290

10 Claims. 1

My invention relates to a ladder structure, and more particularly to a ladder structure adapted for use in conjunction with roofs of building structures, and used chiefly by roofing contractors and painters.

Various types of grapples are generally used on ladders, so that same can be suspended from the ridge of a building or the like. In general, these are permanently secured to the ladder, and are so constructed that the workman must push the ladder up the roof until the upper end clears the ridge, at which time he flops the ladder over so that the grapple will engage the ridge. It is quite difiicult to turn over these heavy ladders and many accidents resulted from so doing, particularly when the pitch of the roof is steep or when there is a high wind.

It is an object of my present invention to provide an improved ladder construction by constructing same with an improved grapple and mounting therefor, whereby to obviate the turning over of these heavy ladders when being raised and secured to buildings as described above. These and other objects will be made apparent as the description progresses.

A preferred embodiment of my invention is 11- lustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which Fig. 1 is a perspective View illustrating my improved ladder construction and showing how same is adapted and applied to use with various types of buildings.

N Fig. 2 is an elevational view of a ladder embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal view thereof taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

' Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the ladder structure.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a modified form of construction, and

Fig. '7 shows a modified means for adjustably securing the ladder to the rod.

In Fig. 1 a portion of a building M is shown as provided with a relatively steep pitched roof R. For repairing or painting this roof, the workman must mount the ladder A and from the top thereof he may manipulate the improved adjustable ladder B, which embodies the principles of my invention. While I have shown a roof of a size to be readily covered by two such ladders, it will be obvious that additional ladder sections may be used for roofs of greater extent, if so desired.

In this particular construction, it is possible to suspend the ladder from the ridge 9 of the building. The rod I0 is pushed upwardly untilthe grapple 12 projects beyond the ridge 9, the grapple is then engaged on the ridge and one or more -ladder sections are slid into place and secured or fastened to the rod as will be hereafter described in detail.

The ladder comprises the side rails l5 and rungs i6 secured thereto in any suitable way. I prefer to employ substantially hollow tubular aluminum sections for the side rails and rungs, same being substantially square in cross section as i1- lustrated, the hollow side rails serving as storage compartments for the rod sections. The rungs are preferably welded or otherwise permanently secured to the outer face of the side rails so as to space the rungs a substantial distance from the roof surface against which the ladder rests.

A tubular section l8, disposed parallel and midway of the side rails is secured tothe rear side of the rungs l6 by clamps or brackets l9, said section I8 being preferably welded to the brackets H! as at 2|], the brackets being welded or riveted I to the rungs.

The rod it] comprises a number of sections which can be quickly attached together end to end by any suitable means, I having shown in Figs. 2 and 3 one such means as comprising a threaded socket on one end to receive an externally threaded stub of reduced diameter carried by the adjoining rod section. In Fig. 3 the ladder is locked in place on the rod by a split spring washer 20, while in Fig. 7 a tapered pin 2! is thrust through registered holes in the tubular member l8 and 'rod Ill. A grapple element 25 is pivotally secured .to

the upper end of the rod ID by a pin'26, which engages, the forked end 21 of the rod II], a shaft 28 and the return bent socket 29 of the grapple which is preferably wrapped around the shaft 28. Wheels 30 are rotatably supported in any suitable manner on the ends of shaft 28 ('see Figs. 2 and 3). The grapple is thus pivotally supported to rotate in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rod I0, for a purpose later to be described.

In mounting this ladder on the roof, the workman lays the rod on the roof with the flange 25a projecting away or outwardly from the surface of the roof, and will then push same up, adding as many rod sections as necessary until same projects beyond the ridge. Preferably at least one ladder section is mounted on the rod before same is pushed up, but if desired, these ladder 3 sections may be assembled on the rod afterwards. However by threading the ladders on the rod previous to pushing the rod up to the ridge, the ladder will not scrape the roof to any degree because the Wheels slightly elevate the ladder with respect to the surface of the roof.

After the grapple is raised, a sufiicient amount to clear the ridge ID, the rod is rotated to orient the grapple and engage the flange 25a behind the ridge of the roof, whereby to firmly suspend the rod and the ladder sections carried thereby from the ridge.

In case it is desired to lay the ladder at an angle, as in an angle formed by a dormer extending from the roof, the grapple is slightly rotated on its pivot, (see Fig. 1) so that the grapple lies parallel to the ridge.

This ladder can be as quickly removed from the roof, the ladder sections and rod sections being disassembled very easily by a workman standing on the ladder A.

Although I have described but one basic form of my invention, it will be apparent to anyone skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A ladder substantially of the character described aclapted to be anchored to a ridge of a house, dormer or other building and comprising a ladder structure having a pair of side rails and rungs secured to said side rails, a tubular member secured to said ladder structure and extending substantially parallel to the side rails, a rod slidably supported in said tubular member and projecting above the ladder top, a grapple secured to the upper end of said rod, said grapple being oriented by rotating said rod whereby to engage the grapple on said ridge of said building structure, and means locking said ladder structure to said rod, said rod comprising separate sections secured end to end to provide rods of varying length.

2. A ladder substantially of the character described adapted to be anchored to a ridge of a house, dormer or other building and comprising a ladder structure having a pair of side rails and rungs secured to said side rails, a tubular member secured to said ladder structure and extending substantially parallel to the side rails, a rod slidably supported in said tubular member and projecting above the ladder top, a grapple secured to the upper end of said rod, said grapple being oriented b rotating said rod whereby to engage the grapple on said ridge of said building structure, and means locking said ladder structure to said rod, said grapple pivotally mounted on the end of said rod and disposed to swing about said pivot in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of said rod.

3. A ladder substantially of the character described adapted to be anchored to a ridge of a house, dormer or other building and comprising a ladder structure having a pair of side rails and rungs secured to said side rails, a tubular member secured to said ladder structure and extending substantially parallel to the side rails, a rod slidably supported in said tubular member and projecting above the ladder top, a grapple secured to the upper end of said rod, said grapple being oriented by rotating said rod whereby to engage the grapple on said ridge of said building structure, and means locking said ladder structure to said rod, said grapple comprising a flanged portion disposed in a plane substantially normal to the rod axis and extending to one side thereof, and rollers carried by and rotatably supported by said grapple to facilitate pushing of same up an inclined roof to extend said rod beyond the ridge of the building structure whereby to allow for orientation of said rod and grapple through an angle of substantially degrees so as to engage the fiange of said grapple over said ridge.

4. A ladder substantially of the character described adapted to be anchored to a ridge of a house, dormer or other building and comprising a ladder structure having a pair of side rails and rungs secured to said side rails, a tubular member disposed substantially parallel and midway of the side rails and secured to at least two of said rungs, and a rod structure slidably supported in said tubular member and adapted to be extended upwardly, a grapple secured to said rod and adapted to be oriented by rotating the rod whereby to engage the grapple on the ridge of said building structure, means selectively securing said ladder structure to said rod in a plurality of adjusted positions.

5. A ladder substantially of the character described adapted to be anchored to a ridge of a house, dormer or other building and comprising a ladder structure having a pair of side rails and rungs secured to said side rails, a tubular member disposed substantially parallel and'midway of the side rails and secured to at least two of said rungs, and a rod structure slidably supported in said tubular member and adapted to be extended upwardly, a grapple secured to said rod and adapted to be oriented by rotating the rod whereby to engage the grapple on the ridge of said building structure, means selectively securing said ladder structure to said rod in a plurality of adjusted positions, said rod comprising readily attached sections and having a total overall length sufficient to support two or more of said ladder structures.

6. A ladder substantially of the character described adapted to be anchored to a ridge of a house, dormer or other building and comprising a ladder structure having a pair of side rails and rungs secured to said side rails, a tubular member disposed substantially parallel and midway of the side rails and secured to at least two of said rungs, and a rod structure slidably supported in said tubular member and adapted to be extended upwardly, a grapple secured to said rod and adapted to be oriented by rotating the rod whereby to engage the grapple on the ridge of said building structure, means selectively securing said ladder structure to said rod in a plurality of adjusted positions, the rungs of said ladder structure secured to the outside face of said side rails remote from the face of said roof of said building structure against which the ladder structure is adapted to. rest, said tubular member disposed between said rungs and the roof of said building structure.

'7. A ladder substantially of the character described adapted to be anchored to a ridge of a house, dormer or other building and comprising a ladder structure having a pair of side rails and rungs secured to said side rails, a tubular member disposed substantially parallel and midway of the side rails and secured to at least two of said rungs, and a rod structure slidably supported in said tubular member and adapted to be extended upwardly, a grapple secured to said rod and adapted to be oriented by rotating the rod whereby to engage the grapple on the ridge of said building structure, means selectively securing said ladder structure to said rod in a plurality of adjusted positions, the rungs of said ladder structure secured to the outside face of said side rails remote from the face of said roof of said building structure against which the ladder structure is adapted to rest, said tubular member disposed between said rungs and the roof of said building structure, said means securing said tubular member to said rungs, comprising brackets secured to the rungs and to which said tubular member may be permanently secured.

8. A ladder substantially of the character described, and adapted to be anchored to a ledge or ridge of a house or other building, and comprising a ladder structure having a pair of side rails and rungs secured to said side rails, a rod disposed to extend longitudinally of said ladder structure and slidably and rotatably supported by said ladder structure, said rod having a grapple secured to its upper end adjacent the upper end of said ladder structure, said rod extending for substantially the full length of the ladder structure operable from the lower end of said ladder structure to :be rotated whereby to engage the grapple with said ledge or ridge of said building.

9. A ladder substantially of the character described and adapted to be anchored to a ledge or ridge of a house or other building, and comprising a ladder structure having a pair of side rails and rungs secured to said side rails, a rod disposed to extend longitudinally of said ladder structure and slidably and rotatably supported by said ladder structure, said rod having a grapple secured to its upper end adjacent the upper end of said ladder structure, said rod operable from the lower end 6 of said ladder structure to be rotated whereby to engage the grapple with said ledge or ridge of said building, said rod comprising multiple sections detachably secured together end to end and providing a support for multiple ladder structures mounted end to end on said rod,

10. A ladder substantially of the character described and adapted to be anchored to a ledge or ridge of a house or other building, and comprising a ladder structure having a pair of side rails and rungs secured to said side rails, a rod disposed to extend longitudinally of said ladder structure and slidably and rotatably supported by said ladder structure, said rod having a grapple secured to its upper end adjacent the upper end of said ladder structure, said rod operable from the lower end of said ladder structure to be rotated whereby to engage the grapple with said ledge or ridge of said building, said rod comprising multiple sections detachably secured together end to end and providing a support for multiple ladder structures mounted end to end on said rod, said mounting of said rod and said ladder structure comprising fixtures secured to the rungs of said ladder structure and which fixtures are constructed and arranged to slidably and rotatably receive said rod.

HOWARD J. FRAZIER.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Close Nov. 21, 1916 Number 

